The use of computer networks has grown dramatically in recent years and the number and types of applications and services which are now available to a user has likewise increased substantially over the years. Generally, a computer network is a set of computers (or “hosts”) which are able to communicate electronically. Each host is assigned a specific numeric address, which the network uses to route information to that particular host. To facilitate human use of the networks, each numeric address is often given its own unique alphanumeric code (or “mnemonic”) so that the user may better and more easily remember the address. For example, the numeric address 200.87.482.32 may be assigned to the mnemonic “store.com”.
At the present time, the largest and fastest growing network is commonly known as the “Internet”, a world-wide “network of networks” which is formed by a great number of interconnected computers and computer networks. The Internet has a series of communication protocols which connect the collection of computer resources in a network fashion. Many of the sites available on the Internet can be accessed using popular standard protocols or formats, such as Hypertext Transport Protocol (“HTTP”). Each of these sites acts as a remote server and is designed to provide information to the user's computer in accordance with a particular format or protocol. Sites on the Internet that have been set up using HTTP protocol are commonly referred to as being “Web sites”. If the user wishes to communicate with a particular, selected Web site, the user's computer must first be in communication with the Internet and must also be capable of communicating using HTTP protocol. Software in the user's computer which permits this to be accomplished is often called a “browser”, for it allows the user to browse from one Web site to another site.
Users may also specify a Web site by manually typing in the site's location as a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”). The URL is unique to a specific location and is used to specify the precise location of a particular resource. The URL has three fields, namely: <resource type> <domain name> <path>. The domain name is the alphanumeric network address on which a particular resource resides. The path is the specific directory and file on the host where a resource is stored. A typical URL is http://jjohnson.cc.umass.edu.html.
Often times, browsing through Web sites is fairly easy due to individual Web pages (HTML document) having a highlighted “link” or embedded URL specifying the Internet address of another Web site (another HTML document). To access this other Web site, the user simply “clicks on” or selects the highlighted URL with a pointing device, i.e., a computer mouse. However, if the user wishes to connect to a Web site that is not referenced in a HTML document, then the user has to manually input the URL of the Web site. This is not always an easy task and can be a very frustrating task as it requires the user to know the entire URL of the Web site. Often times, the particular URL may be fairly long and complex to remember.
Devices have been developed to assist an individual in storing URLs that are of interest to that particular individual. For example, it is known to use bar coded symbols which are encoded with a URL indicating the location of a particular Web site that is of interest. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,024 to Knowles, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, an Internet scanning system is provided. The system includes a wireless bar code symbol reading system having a hand-supported laser scanning bar code symbol reading device for reading a bar code symbol. The programmed bar code symbol reader functions to read a bar code symbol that is encoded with the URL of a Web site which the user desires to access. The URL-encoded bar code symbol may be conveniently placed in all types of printed matter, including printed guides, directories or publications which digest, catalogue, organize or otherwise list WWW sites. Furthermore, the URL-encoded bar code symbol may be placed in advertising in magazines, newspapers, and the like so that a user, who is interested in obtaining more information on the particular product or service being advertised, may simply use the wireless bar code symbol reading system to scan the URL-encoded bar code symbol.
In the '024 patent, the Internet scanning system also includes a scanning integrated terminal which may be a part of an interactive web-based television system. The terminal (i.e., a computer or transportable computer) is connected to the Internet using known communication methods. During operation, the scanning device is used to read the URL-encoded bar code symbol printed on some type of matter in order to connect to the corresponding Web site thereof. Thus, this type of system eliminates the need for the user to remember a long and sometimes complex URL of a particular Web site or the like. However, such a system has limitations as the system has a fixed relationship between the URL code and the Web site that is linked to this particular URL code. This severely limits the type and amount of information available to the user. For example, the user is not able to select the type of information which he/she desires concerning the particular product or service identified by the URL code but rather the user is simply sent to a particular section of a Web site which is linked to the URL code. This may not be especially helpful to the user as often times the URL code is linked to a very general Web page that does not include the type of information the user would like to view. In addition, this type of device is merely a locator device which simply improves the process and ease of accessing a particular Web site. The device does not provide the user with other options, such as access to other Web sites that may be of interest, etc.
In addition, other types of computer communication systems have also been developed for giving users convenient access to information located on computer networks, such as the Internet. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,773, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, a system and method for using an ordinary article of commerce to access a remote computer are presented. As most consumers are aware, most products or other articles of commerce have an associated bar code or other indicia thereon which uniquely identifies the product. The indicia encodes (in human and/or machine readable form) a UPC or other identification number, which is associated with the article in accordance with an extrinsic standard. As most consumers realize, a majority of products contain a visible bar code displayed on the product itself, its packaging or some other component of the product. The use of bar codes is especially prevalent in the shopping arena where products are inventoried using bar codes and are purchases are made at a register by scanning the bar codes.
In the '773 patent, a computer database is provided that relates standard UPC codes to Internet URLs or network addresses. To access a network resource relating to a particular product, the user swipes a bar code reader across the product's UPC code. The database then retrieves the URL corresponding to the UPC product data. This location information is then used to access the desired resource on the network. It is often difficult to present URL data in bar code format because the resulting bar codes would be too long for practical use. By using existing UPC product information and then developing a database of network locations, the manufacturers do not need to list their addresses on the product or packaging itself, which many times has a limited area. The UPC code can be printed on removable stickers or detachable cards, thereby allowing the users to simply clip the UPC code for future reference.
While this system is useful in some applications, it has limitations that adversely impact the number and types of potential applications for the system. Once again, there is a fixed relationship between the UPC code and a Web site linked to that particular UPC code. In operation, the user scans the UPC code and a search of the database is done. If the UPC code matches one that is stored in the database, records are retrieved and displayed. For each record, a link associated with the URL is provided and when the user selects the link, browser software or the like loads the URL associated with the selected link to access the resource at the location specified by the particular URL. The association is based on selected criteria and many times, the selected criteria will be the existence of a Web resource sponsored by the manufacturer of the product identified by the UPC code. The association could also be based on the existence of a Web site that simply refers to or relates to the particular product. The database may also be incorporated with a database or search engine.
One of the disadvantages of this type of system is that the types of information which are accessible to the user are limited. The system primarily is designed to provide a link to informational resources that are associated with the product and more specifically, are associated with the UPC code. Thus, the information called up by the scanning of the UPC code may be much too general and entirely useless. For example, the scanning of a UPC code for a bottle of aspirin might lead to a general page for the manufacturer of the aspirin instead of a more specific page on the product itself. The printed URL address on the product may actually lead to a more comprehensive and useful page on the aspirin product itself. The user is thus not given specific options listing the types of information or services that are available to the user and therefore, the user may become frustrated and overwhelmed with general, useless information.
Similar systems, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,102 to Schachar, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be used to encode a resource address (Internet URL, E-mail address, or other similar network specifier) into a symbol. In operation, the symbol is scanned and application software accepts the data (i.e., URL) encoded in the symbol and interprets the data as a network resource address. After decoding the symbol, the application software is then able to generate a request to connect to the specified resource or E-mail address. A network session is then established to connect the user to the resource address. These system are fairly basic in that they are designed to permit the user to access the resource address in a simple and more efficient manner than if the user had to manually enter the resource address to provide a connection thereto. For the same reasons stated hereinbefore, these systems are likewise limited in that they have a fixed relationship between the encoded symbol and a resource address which is linked to the encoded symbol. While being useful in some applications, this type of system limits the types of information or services which can be provided to the user.
What is needed in the art and has heretofore not been available is an interactive system and method for providing product and related information to a customer using information carried by the product itself, such as the UPC code, where the customer is given a options menu listing the information and/or services available to the consumer. What is further needed in the art and has heretofore not been available is a system that is incorporated into a hand-held device, such as a cellular phone, and uses product information (e.g., UPC code) to provide pricing information from multiple sources. A benefit of such a system is that the customer is able to compare the prices of a number of merchants and individual merchants may bid to fulfill a customer's order at a lowest price, etc., based upon a request order being generated by the customer. What is further needed in the art and has heretofore not been available is a customer-accessible database incorporated into the interactive system and containing customer entries specified by the customer so that the customer may keep a log of products or services already used and any commentary with respect thereto. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.